Fascism: An Informal Introduction to Its Theory and Practice

by Renzo De Felice

For Italian intellectuals, the terms fascist and antifascist continue to be the hard currency of contemporary political debate. When Professor Renzo de Felice suggests that fascism describes a moment in the Italian past--and only that--he is challenging the very heart of current orthodoxy. His ideas about fascism have a broad significance and represent a radical departure from conventional wisdom. This book remains important because of de Felice's vast knowledge of fascism and rigorous historical analysis. This dialogue between de Felice and American scholar Michael Ledeen ranges from empirical research on the history of Mussolini and the Fascist Regime in Italy to seeking a definition of fascism and determining its general characteristics.

Genres: Politics, History, Italy, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1976

About the author

Renzo De Felice (8 April 1929 – 25 May 1996) was an Italian historian, who specialized in the Fascist era, writing, among other works, a 6000-page biography of Benito Mussolini (4 volumes, 1965–1997). He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues but a pragmatist in foreign policy who continued the Realpolitik policies of Italy from 1861 to 1922.
Historian of Italy Philip Morgan has called De Felice's biography of Mussolini "a very controversial, influential and at the same time problematic re-reading of Mussolini and Fascism" and rejected the contention that his work rose above politics to "scientific objectivity", as claimed by the author and his defenders.

Reviews

[Russ Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting. I knew Germany, Italy and Spain embraced fascism but I’d never thought of Japanese culture as fascist. Well worth a read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this before "Interpretations of Fascism" by De Felice and it helped me better understand. Through the interview you find out characteristics of De Felice such as his Italian nationalistic tendency and that he is a Mussolini biographer. Overall this was an interesting piece and a quick read that helped outline the concept of Fascism but would not serve as a good reference to fully comprehend the Fascist ideology.